GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. — Two men face charges for assault with a dangerous weapon after a Grand Rapids police officer reported shots fired at his home and squad car late Sunday.
Timothy James Hilgedick, 24, and Dominic Gene Johnson Carlson, 18, both of Grand Rapids, face up to seven years in prison if convicted of using a high-powered BB handgun in the incident.
Both men also face charges for possessing marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
Off-duty Grand Rapids police officer Matt O’Rourke was with his family in their Grand Rapids home just before 10 p.m. “when he heard multiple projectiles striking his marked police squad car parked in his driveway.
Projectiles were also striking the family’s house. A vehicle was seen speeding away on the street in front of the house,” Grand Rapids Assistant Police Chief Steve Schaar said.
The officer chased the vehicle while calling the incident into the Grand Rapids Police Department, and the suspect vehicle was found abandoned near a school, Schaar said.
K-9 Officer Gary O’Brien, with the assistance of his police dog Radar, found the vehicle’s two occupants nearby and arrested them.
“We are grateful that nobody was hurt,” Schaar said. “At this time, we do not have a motive for the shooting. … That will be determined by the Itasca County sheriff’s investigator.”
Court documents show Hilgedick said he and Carlson arranged to sell drugs but the deal went bad. The intended purchasers chased them through Grand Rapids.
“After losing the vehicle, Hilgedick asked Carlson if he wanted to shoot up a house,” the probable cause statement reads.
The statement goes on to read:
“Hilgedick gave Carlson directions to a residence that he knew belonged to a licensed peace officer with the Grand Rapids Police Department. Hilgedick fired the BB pistol directly at the residence six to seven times, striking both the residence and the officer’s marked patrol vehicle.”
An officer later obtained a search warrant for the vehicle, where he found a black semiautomatic CO2-powered .177 BB gun, 1 ounce of marijuana and multiple items of drug paraphernalia.
Hilgedick and Carlson appeared in Itasca County District Court on Tuesday. A judge set bail for each man at $100,000 without conditions, or $50,000 with conditions. However, Hilgedick also is being held without bail for a probation violation on an unrelated matter.